Home

Today I am sitting in my parent’s house is West Virginia, a place I get to visit far to infrequently, and I find myself contemplating the meaning of home. My parents are creating a room in their home for our son to come “home” to on breaks that are not long enough to justify a trip home to us in Thailand.  They are being very intentional about making him feel belongs, is wanted, and has a place.  What exactly is it that makes home…home?  Home is an interesting concept. We long for it.  We spend time and money attempting to create home and we are rarely fully satisfied.  We say, “home is where the heart is,” “home is where you hang your hat” and “there’s no place like home.”   A favorite song about obedience to God’s call has the lyrics:  “I will go and let this journey be my home.”  While all of these things can be true, in my life, I’ve come to learn a different understanding of home.  Our longing for home surely comes from our desire to be at home with the LORD and often we think of this as heaven, but Jesus promised us, in John 14: 23, that “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  How does that work exactly?  How does Christ create home with us?  The Holy Spirit abides/lives in us, surely.  But we’ve recently experienced another, very precious way that our Father provides home.

Early last month we closed on the sale of our house and moved out. We sorted through, boxed up, gave away, sold, shipped and relocated our various belongings. This all happened about a week sooner than we thought and I had planned for one of my oldest friends to come visit me. Because she loves me and because she is such a gracious and flexible person, she just jumped right in and helped me pack. We did very little that could be considered “fun” but I still had a great time just being with her face to face, hearing her voice in person and spending time in her presence. I know I couldn’t have been ready without her help. The finalday, two more very dear friends stepped in and helped me finish and clean the house. They also helped actually clear out items we weren’t sure what to do with. Another friend came to help with the heavy lifting and to drive with Kevin to Idaho where the stuff our daughter can use will live. As Kevin was standing beside the moving van ready to haul our things to their new location, the words came again, “We could never have done this without them!”

As I drove away from my home I was mentally and physically exhausted. I had a brief cry and drove the 25 minutes to the house of friends where we would be staying for the duration of our time in central Oregon. I was tired and just wanted to go home, but I had no home of my own to go to. They offered me theirs. In fact, they insisted that Kevin and I take their bedroom. They encouraged me to take the next day just to relax and rest. I did. Had I not, I might have actually found myself incapacitated.  This space to live and be is something we need.  Once again our friends have provided a piece of our journey we could not do without.

The following day we drove over the mountains to a quiz meet. The final quiz meet that Kevin, who has an incredible passion for Bible quizzing, would get to attend. Our son, also a quiz coach was with us. We already knew it was going to be an emotional day, but then the car decided to have a mind of its own. As we were going around some pretty tight curves, the car began accelerating on its own. Kevin was able to get the car under control, but for the rest of the day, we had no idea what to expect from our car. It was terrifying. We also needed to continue to drive this car to the two churches where we were scheduled to speak that weekend.

I was done in. Again, a friend came. She came and sat with me, just sat and then prayed. She offered her presence and her understanding. She offered her love. I was not alone. It was just ten minutes but it meant the world to me.

The pastors we were going to stay with that night welcomed us, fed us and gave us space to recover and rest. As a result we were able to share and still be enthusiastic about our journey. In the service we received communion, a meal I hadn’t realized I was starving for.  Participating with the Holy Spirit and the Body of Christ in this sacrament renewed me like nothing else could.  We found the same hospitality in home of the next pastor we stayed with. Rest, welcome, nourishment, acceptance, peace.

As we were driving back to Central Oregon, the words came again in the form of a prayer. We couldn’t be doing this without them.

At each church we’ve been to, we’ve been welcomed, nourished, fed, refreshed, We’ve found rest and peace and support. People who’ve offered their homes and presence to our college-aged kids, people who’ve prayed over us, blessed us, embraced us.

We had the privilege of staying with a wonderful family who intentionally created space in their home for just that purpose: to offer welcome, rest, space, peace, quiet, nourishment, support to people in ministry who are far from or have no permanent home. The body of Christ has offered us Home. And the words come again—we couldn’t do this without them, thank you, God.

Here in West Virginia we meet more brothers and sisters in Christ who thoughtfully prepare for our visit and do so much to make us feel welcome and comfortable and to see that we are well cared for.   Our boys are well fed and walk out carrying bags of left-overs.  We are given lovely gifts, warm hugs and friendly smiles.   Grateful is becoming a state of being.

Everywhere we go we find the Body of Christ living out the Word of God:  “Carry one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and “Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10) and we are so overwhelmingly grateful. Our hearts are so full.

To even begin to recount the number of times God has moved people’s hearts to care for us seems overwhelming. But we’ve become so aware of how God moves His people and how beautiful it is when they respond. Christ sees us, provides for us, embraces us, cares for us through His body. He’s actually holding our hands as we walk this road and those hands are the hands of our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the Church, this is the Body, This is home.